Picked this up out of curiosity at the video shop and was pleasantly surprised. I though the acting was good, the characterisations well based and the story credible. I liked the drama and tension between what many women must feel when they have a satisfying career and all supports are lost through a senseless act. The moralistic and righteous stance is really challenged and I think many will accept the decision Rachel takes. While not top shelf, this movie does make one think.
5 Reviews
Better than average legal drama
msjpacke9 December 2005
I thought this a better than average legal drama, and while a previous review called this something like "cliché city," I thought there were some fresh twists on familiar themes.
1. Often people of color or the disabled are presented as saints or sinners in this type of film (e.g., blacks are either street thugs or have advanced degrees) and these characters exist here as well. But the brother-in-law and the disabled prosecutor struck me as good but seriously flawed individuals. Yes, this too can be a Hollywood cliché, but these characters struck me as bringing something new to the table.
2. The prosecutor who lost her husband to senseless violence is another cliché, and there were times that the sad weepy children and mom were written in a way that could have been mailed in. And the presentation of the "perfect" marriage that ends tragically was nothing new. (once again, we could develop sympathy for a widow who had a more realistic marriage.) But even when the dialog was clichéd, the actors manages to sell it.
1. Often people of color or the disabled are presented as saints or sinners in this type of film (e.g., blacks are either street thugs or have advanced degrees) and these characters exist here as well. But the brother-in-law and the disabled prosecutor struck me as good but seriously flawed individuals. Yes, this too can be a Hollywood cliché, but these characters struck me as bringing something new to the table.
2. The prosecutor who lost her husband to senseless violence is another cliché, and there were times that the sad weepy children and mom were written in a way that could have been mailed in. And the presentation of the "perfect" marriage that ends tragically was nothing new. (once again, we could develop sympathy for a widow who had a more realistic marriage.) But even when the dialog was clichéd, the actors manages to sell it.
Strong women take centre stage.
lisahome7227 August 2003
An average courtroom drama that's made watchable by the always superb Stockard Channing. Who plays a chain-smoking, wheelchair using lawyer filled with angst. It's not often you see such a strong, disabled female character, Stockard Channing is a master stroke in casting, she plays the role with inteligence and a intuitive subtlety. Class stuff one one of the finest ever actresses.
A sensitive portrayal of working relationships which had my wife and I riveted to the tv - can't understand its lukewarm reception - interplay of characters and situations much more believable than the usual
nicholls22 August 2003
We did not catch the start of this but were gripped to the end, mainly by the superb acting of the two principal women. They are both lawyers on the same side, the husband of one of them has been murdered in a supermarket robbery. The film shows the process of bringing the accused to justice. Much of the detail escapes me now, but I was captivated by the way in which the principals hammered out their working relationship, which was not without its problems. The acting was first-rate, controlled and very realistic - the scene in which the widowed woman reaches the end of her tether after maintaining steely control of herself for so long, and bursts into unstoppable tears, had my wife and I weeping in sympathy.
It is rare that a story which starts as a million nondescript thrillers have started, goes on to involve its people in such a realistic and well-thought-out series of events. I am surprised that only one other reviewer seems to echo our sentiments.
It is rare that a story which starts as a million nondescript thrillers have started, goes on to involve its people in such a realistic and well-thought-out series of events. I am surprised that only one other reviewer seems to echo our sentiments.
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